Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SHEP

Our plan to get to the safe house wasn't the best, but we'd make it work. As we exited the diner after JJ let us know they'd arrived and were settling in, we surveyed the area.

"See anything?" Angel asked as we scrutinized any and every car and truck in our line of sight.

"No."

The diner was off a main road, and there weren't any streets nearby. I'd felt like we'd have seen someone if they were following us.

"Let's get in the car and drive for a while, keep an eye out for anyone getting close." Gabe hit the fob and we all got in.

"The safe house is in the opposite direction of our home." Noel was watching the rear window. "It'll take a while, so if you see anything suspicious, tell me and Nick. We can maybe get the license plate and search it. Might find something."

We drove for an hour, and nothing was popping out at us. I even looked to the sky to see if there was a helicopter or drone, anything.

"None of this makes sense," Nick said at the exact moment Gabe shouted, "There, Lincoln Navigator, three cars behind us. When Angel turned, it followed—that's the fourth time."

Nick and Noel were already on it. Gabe kept his eyes on the SUV while I searched the rest of the area; they might have more than one vehicle following us.

"Start taking more desolate side roads, Angel. That way we can thin out these cars until it's just them." Noel was aiming his cell phone at the SUV, probably trying to copy the plate number.

"Desolate roads?" Angel huffed. "You say that like I know this fucking area."

"I got you." Nick pulled up Map App and began searching the area. "Where are we exactly? Give me an address."

A post office was coming up, and fortunately the address was on the building. "17 Broad Street, and we're in the town of Cremley." Good thing phones told you the towns you were in.

"Okay, the third street on your left—take it. It leads to a residential road; go there first."

Angel listened to Nick and a second after he turned, he slowed down but nothing happened. No SUV.

"Keep going," I said. "They're going to be cautious."

"Next road, make a right." Nick pointed and Angel followed. "Reverse into that spot there."

He did and we sat in silence. Waiting for what, I didn't know, but within two minutes we found out why.

"There," Gabe growled.

Sure enough, the Navigator drove past us; then a minute later, they did it again. They hadn't wanted to follow too closely but in not doing so, they'd lost us completely.

"There are no trackers on our vehicle, right?" Angel looked back to the twins.

"Nope," Noel responded. "I can trace them on my tablet, and I did as soon as we left the laundromat and also after the diner."

"You guys are scary." I chuckled.

Nick grinned and shot me a wink. "Which is something the consortium might be figuring out. They're not used to dealing with the likes of the Saint brothers." He raised his fist in a corny show of power.

We stayed parked for thirty minutes until we were sure they'd left. Then Angel pulled out, and I texted JJ to let him know we'd be there soon.

The safe house was just that…safe. It had a tall gate that surrounded the property, security up the wazoo, and all the other things the twins and Angel deemed necessary to keep us protected.

The reason we didn't live there was because it had an industrial architecture that wasn't homey, and it was away from any sort of civilization. Seriously, if we wanted to go food shopping it was over an hour's drive.

This house was designed for protection and defense. If someone came to our gates, the likelihood it was to sell Girl Scout cookies was low…very, very, low.

We pulled the SUV into the garage and waited as the secured door closed behind us before getting out. All of our cars were stored here, and the door could withstand a lot of gunpower.

Sure, there was a front door but you had to enter a code, do a retinal scan, and fingerprint scan just for it to open. Living here wasn't practical…let's just say that.

"Hey." JJ smiled when we entered the living room, where he, Four, Max, and Mason were watching one of the Avengers movies.

"Hi." I opened my arms and beamed once he rushed into them.

"JJ was telling us about how you all met; it's a remarkable story." Max cleared his throat. "I gotta ask, though. Why not have a place like this, then? You'd all have been safer."

I gestured to Mason. "He's our cash cow."

Max faced him. "Is that so?"

Mason shrugged. "My parents left me an insane amount of money after they died. I invested some once I figured that stuff out. I owned my apartment outright, so when these lugs entered my life I was able to put it toward all of us."

Max nodded. "Makes sense, then." He sat up a little straighter. "So, how'd it go?"

"We were being followed," Nick answered as he plopped into the large papasan chair.

"But we lost them. It's what took us so long," I added.

Everyone began talking, and I pulled JJ with me into the kitchen. "Cook with me?"

He gave me a quick kiss. "Of course. We should eat. So, listen." He took out the chopped meat from the refrigerator. He and Mason must have brought food from home since all the meat we kept here was in the deep freezer.

"Yeah?"

"You should call Lizzy, close the shop down for a bit. You can say family emergency, she'll understand. Plus, it's not safe for the three of them to be there with none of us nearby to help if they're in trouble."

Nodding, I ripped open the meat and placed it in the bowl. "Good idea. Please state that we will pay everyone regardless of the fact that we're closed."

"Oh, you want me to do this?" He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Please?"

He kissed the center of my back and released me. "Okay, let me go call Lizzy. She can tell the others and go in tomorrow to put a sign up on the door."

I watched JJ walk out of the room, a sudden rush of dread washing over me. We weren't safe, we didn't have the upper hand, and our information was nil. Something had to give soon.

I placed the meatloaf into the oven and started on the potatoes. If we wanted this madness to end and for everyone to be safe, we were going to have to make hard decisions and do things none of us would like.

The sooner this ended, the sooner we could go home.